Discovering an Early Prototype of Stonehenge: The Secrets of an Ancient Monument

Ancient Stone Age societies in Britain constructed wooden monuments to mark the summer solstice approximately 500 years before the iconic stone circles at Stonehenge were established.

Stonehenge also aligns with the summer solstice, hinting that the wooden structures may have inspired its creation. This discovery represents one of the earliest manifestations of monuments dedicated to celestial events in Britain.

“What we have now is substantial evidence that these communities were able to track the sun’s movement,” stated Phil Harding from Wessex Archaeology, who led the excavation project during a press conference unveiling the findings.

Stonehenge, completed at the end of the Stone Age, during the Neolithic era, is situated on Salisbury Plain, England. It encompasses an outer ring of vertical sarsen stones topped with horizontal lintels, alongside a smaller inner circle of vertical bluestone and additional stones. This oldest section dates back to around 3100 BC, with further constructions extending until 1600 BC.

Notably, certain standing stones appear meticulously positioned to align with the summer solstice sunrise and the opposite sight for the winter solstice sunset, with construction of these associated stones occurring around 2500 BC.

Harding and his team unearthed the remnants of a 500-year-old monument near Bulford, roughly five kilometers northeast of Stonehenge, in a location initially designated for a military base housing 5,000 soldiers. Prior to construction, Wessex Archaeology carried out excavations from 2015 to 2017.

The research team identified several pits containing fluted pottery created by late Neolithic cultures. Radiocarbon dating suggests the pottery dates back to around 2950 BC, with 40 samples clustered closely in time. “This site was occupied for a relatively brief period,” Harding explained, estimating an occupancy span of about a decade.

Acknowledging its significance, Susan Greaney from the University of Exeter, who was not involved in the study, remarked, “This is a crucial Middle Neolithic settlement.”

Two pits found at Bulford displayed distinct shapes: tapering sides that transitioned from 1.2 meters wide to just 0.5 meters, lacking pottery but filled with chalk rubble. Harding concluded these were postholes that once supported upright timbers, with one containing rowan charcoal.

Positioned approximately 120 meters apart, the postholes’ alignment directed towards the northeast, roughly 48.1 degrees—a significant angle for summer solstice sunrises. Harding expressed his enthusiasm, remarking, “I was genuinely thrilled.”

Wessex Archaeology enlisted Fabio Silva, a skyscape archaeologist with Stone x Sky, to analyze the posthole arrangements further. Through a 3D landscape reconstruction, Silva concluded that the alignment of the postholes correlated effectively with ancient midsummer sunrises, allowing for a discrepancy of just about one degree.

Silva noted, “This slight variation makes sense considering the potential diameter of wooden pillars, which could have reached 50 centimeters. Accounting for this width, the alignment remains impressive.” He stated, “The chance of this being coincidental is less than 0.5 percent.”

“A rough orientation might suffice for the rituals conducted at such sites,” suggested A. Cesar González Garcia from Spain’s National Research Council, highlighting the community’s long-standing interest in cosmological phenomena.

Evidently, ancient ruins in the vicinity provide indications that early societies tracked the sun, albeit with varying precision. As Matt Leivers of Wessex Archaeology affirmed, “Since the dawn of Neolithic communities, the sun has consistently influenced their ceremonial structures.”

Greaney reiterated that numerous wooden monuments were similarly oriented, with the Bulford site contributing to the narrative of early monumental architecture. For instance, nearby Larkhill features a Neolithic enclosure from approximately 3700 BC, predating Bulford and Stonehenge. Its entrance faces northeast, allowing for full sunrise visibility over Sidbury Hill on midsummer mornings, as noted by Leavens.